The networked computing environment (e.g., cloud computing environment) is an enhancement to the predecessor grid environment, whereby multiple grids and other computation resources may be further enhanced by one or more additional abstraction layers (e.g., a cloud layer), thus making disparate devices appear to an end-consumer as a single pool of seamless resources. These resources may include such things as physical or logical computing engines, servers and devices, device memory, and storage devices, among others.
On one level, cloud computing can be thought of as a paradigm which, among other goals, seeks to simplify the delivery and consumption of IT and software resources. For instance, to set up a database server, a traditional IT user previously would have purchased a physical piece of computer equipment and performed manual installation of the operating system and database software, requiring special skills as well as a considerable amount of time and effort on the part of the user. Cloud computing can streamline and/or simplify this process, and depending on the level of service purchased by the user, can require minimal skill in the specialized software or middleware that is being used, resulting in setup time that is typically faster than a traditional approach.